Lee Came to the US from the UK looking to try BalanceWear. He had been deteriorating quite a bit the past few months and had great difficulty walking and has balance and mobility issues.

Multiple System Atrophy (MSA) is a rare, incurable disease whose cause is unknown. It currently affects up to .02% of the US population, equally likely to occur in men and women across all ethnic groups. The disease tends to cause initial symptoms in the patient’s 50s, and then rapidly worsens over the course of five to ten years – the patient usually needs the support of an assistive device such as a cane or a walker after only a few years. The earliest symptoms of MSA are similar to the earliest symptoms of Parkinson’s disease; both often begin with slowness of movement, tremor, stiffness, incoordination, and impaired speech. Consequently, it is often difficult to distinguish MSA from Parkinson’s in its early stages. However, unlike Parkinson’s, whose movement-limiting symptoms are caused by the death of nerve cells in a specific, small region of the brain called the substantia nigra, the symptoms of MSA can reflect the death of multiple types of nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Because of the variability in the types of cells that be affected within the MSA diagnosis, a patient’s symptoms generally are classified into one of two types: the parkinsonian type, with characteristics similar to Parkinson’s disease, and the cerebellar type, with characteristics including ataxia and loss of coordination. What both types have in common is a debilitating loss of mobility. Because there is no known cure for the underlying neurodegeneration of MSA, the focus of therapeutic care is on the improvement of the patient’s quality of life by slowing the loss of mobility.

Looks like Lee has new training wheels for the Holidays. We are wishing him the best of luck in his rehabilitation.

Marisol is a 4 year old girl diagnosed with ataxia. Before BalanceWear, her parents say she had a very difficult time keeping her balance and would fall 7-8 times a day, often hurting herself and ending up in the emergency room.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTyc_eDzkEo&list=UUApZX-0NOFentcTAv9-xp3A&index=1&feature=plcp After the trial you see in the video the therapist ordered BalanceWear. Marisol started wearing BalanceWear in August and now wears it every day. These days, Marisol only falls about once a day and is doing very well. Her father states that she can stand still and look around. She used to keep moving because she couldn’t find her balance. She is able to run with her playmates, crawl up and down the stairs to the slide, and use her fork better. She enjoys wearing BalanceWear. Her therapists note that after wearing BalanceWear she was able to stand and use both hands during tasks. Previously she had to lean on the table in order to use her hands. You go Marisol! Keep up the good work.

When we can help children at a young age we hope that they will continue to improve.

Moving your heel along your shin in one fluid motion seems like an easy task. But for those suffering from ataxia, it can be a difficult one. Coordination is impaired and seemingly easy motions can become increasingly difficult. Rolynn suffers from Spinal Cerebellar Ataxia, and as seen in the video, has a hard time holding her heel to her shin. However, after strapping on the BalanceWear Stabilizing Garment, she is able to maintain her heels position much better and can move her heel up and down her shin at a much quicker pace. “It’s been nine years since I’ve been able to even keep my foot on my shin at all”, she says. Another exciting example of Balance-Based Torso-Weighting’s same day treatment results, increasing coordination and balance in an instant!

Exercise class

Exercise class

Causes of Balance and Mobility Impairment in Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis is a progressive autoimmune disease typically diagnosed in young adults, affecting the central nervous system causing damage to the myelin surrounding the nerves and lesions in the brain. Although the disease progresses differently in each person often gait and mobility problems are encountered. Individuals experience many different symptoms such as loss of sensation, visual or vestibular function, spasticity, weakness, central processing and motor output dysfunction. Any or all of the symptoms may contribute to a loss of balance leading to difficulty in walking.
If you experience balance problems you should see a physical therapist who is knowledgeable in treating patients with multiple sclerosis. Many people in my MS exercise class partially funded by the MSFoundation find they are able to do so much more than they thought they were capable of. When people get the diagnosis that they have a neurodegenerative disease and experience a relapse many do not rehabilitate back to where they started. With proper guidance many of them are experiencing recovery of function that they thought was unattainable.